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News & Trends

This department of Rental Housing Journal is dedicating to keeping apartment owners, multifamily executives, real estate investors, landlords and other real estate professionals up to date with the latest trends in real estate, property management and more. Here you will find trends in rents, real estate sales, apartment development, the economy at large and property management and investing industry matters.

Home prices jumped after strong job gains, household formation, population growth and still-attractive mortgage rates in the face of tight inventories drove the increase across the U.S. and especially in the West, according to a release from Corelogic.

A multifamily value-add fund acquired four rental communities totaling 1,094 apartments in Washington, Colorado and Arizona in the fourth quarter of 2016, according to a release.

The fund, which has $304.2 million in equity commitments, has acquired a total of nine communities since 2015.

"With 2,351 apartments under management in Fund II and approximately two thirds of the fund's equity invested, we're in a great position to selectively fill out the balance of the portfolio in 2017," Bill Montgomery, chief investment officer of the SARES•REGIS Multifamily Fund, said in the release.

"The fund's equity commitments can be leveraged to acquire approximately $850 million in assets," he said.

Median rent is more expensive than the mortgage payment on a median valued home in the U.S., but many renters are struggling to come up with a down payment, according to a release.

Rent is so high that a typical renter in the U.S. can purchase a home nearly 50 percent more expensive than the median valued home and keep the same monthly housing budget, according to a new Zillow® analysis.

The median rent in the U.S. is $1,416 per month, which is enough to cover the monthly expenses associated with owning a $289,505 home. The median U.S. home value is $196,500.

Public hearings have begun on Oregon Senate Republican Deputy Leader Tim Knopp's package of bills to tackle the state's housing crisis which he said is driven by a lack of supply and high demand.

Senate Bill 608 allows local governments to expand the Urban Growth Boundary when the number of new households in a jurisdiction exceed the number of new housing units and vacancy rates drop below six percent.

"Oregon's soaring rent prices and housing shortages are caused by an outdated government that restricts building new places to live," Knopp, of Bend, said in a release.

"Rents are rising faster than incomes, and we have to do something about it that restores the balance of supply and demand. When we do that, we will change lives in Oregon," Knopp said.

High-speed internet and Wi-Fi are among the most important amenity factors to apartment dwellers when making a rental decision, even more than in-room laundry facilities, according to a new survey.

Technology drives the multifamily industry, according to a release from Comcast’s multifamily development services division.

The company’s new report, “Networking with Residents: Technology Drives the Multifamily Industry,” examines the state of technology in the multifamily industry by including input from property managers and developers across the country. The report can be downloaded here.

Are there signs that bubbles are brewing in the home flipping industry, writes one real estate consultant, or in real estate careers or in mortgages that are getting more creative?

One sign may be that television reality shows about home flipping continue to expand. Also, when consultants hear flight attendants talk about getting their real estate licenses, it could be another sign.

Real estate consultant John Burns writes in his latest email newsletter that reality television shows have been fueling the home flipping industry. “These television shows captive audiences and have led to a potential bubble in the home flipping industry that is being financed by hard-money loans financed by non-banks,” he writes.

"The pattern for construction starts in early 2017, with three straight monthly gains, is the reverse of the three straight monthly declines that closed out 2016," Robert A. Murray, chief economist for Dodge Data & Analytics, said in the release.

A 408-unit luxury Arizona multifamily property has sold for $55.2 million, according to Institutional Property Advisors (IPA).

Indigo Creek, a 408-unit multifamily property in the Arrowhead area of Glendale, Arizona, was sold at a price that represents more than $135,000 per unit.

“Indigo Creek is a vibrant, luxury multifamily asset that provides new ownership with the opportunity to enhance revenue through the continued implementation of the apartment interior renovation program,” Steve Gebing, IPA senior director, said in a release.